indarwinsshadow:And again, I say, no one is forcing you to fly. So don't fly. Issue solved.

"No one is forcing you to leave your government-provided 10'x10'x10' living cubicle if you don't want to agree to being searched at any time and any place. So don't leave. Problem solved."

All you have to do to avoid flying is never want to go overseas, never have a family emergency across the country (or for that matter, never want to travel across the country), and for some people, change careers. It's a light burden.

Another Pretentious Nickname:Also, leaning on a little bit of credibility as a cancer survivor, take your cancer alarmism about these things and shove it directly up your ass. It's not credible and it's not proportional. If you want to ban scanners for cancer risk you'd have to ban air travel entirely.

It's entirely different to be subject to background radiation and to have someone shooting it at you.

Besides which, these are complicated machines that need proper calibration and monitoring. I can't count how many times I've heard that an airport terminal had to be dumped and re-scanned because they didn't notice that the metal detector was turned off. You trust those same people to say that the body scanners aren't emitting excess levels of radiation?

Incidentally, it's funny that the same sorts of people who say that we don't need to invest in rail in this country, and we shouldn't improve our highway system, also say that air travel is "optional" because there's other options.

I fly pretty often for work, and what I find hilarious about the scanners is that as soon as the airport gets even remotely busy, they shut down the machines and switch to using metal detectors only in order to get people through security in a reasonable amount of time. If a terrorist group wanted to avoid the scanners, all they would have to do is figure out the peak time for an airport and bypass the backscatter machines entirely.

I've decided to become a commercial airline pilot who refuses to ever be searched. I can't believe I didn't think of this before. Just sit back and let the Benji's roll in. Its not like I need to be searched to do my job or anything anyway.

As a commercial airline pilot, I have never gone through the body scanners. Flight crew are exempt. Good thing too, as on my last 3-day trip, I went through security at least 5 times.

However, it wasn't without lots of biatching and complaining by Pilot & FA groups that got us exempted. The Thousands Standing Around are pretty obtuse about regs and whom they should apply to.

As long as the TSA keep doing things the way they have been, I will continue to avoid flying... I work in the nuclear industry and have to get a report on my exposure to radiation, so who's to say these things don't affect my exposure report? I certainly don't trust the idiots who say these things are safe, because those are the very people who build them and sell them to the airports...

Besides, I know what types of radiation are stopped, and by what... So if it can see through your clothes, I know it can go through your skin, so I'd really like to see the specs on the emitters, for example...

peterquince:Here's the deal. A federal court told the TSA (airport security) that they had to "promptly" review the use of the "rapiscan" bodyscans in airports. They use them on everyone going through O'Hare. Aside from the fact that the scanners cause cancer, and they probably violate the 4th amendment, AND they have cost us $2.4 billion, they have never even once uncovered a bomb. This is pure pork money.

Oh, and former Homeland Security officials have made a butt-load on the sale of these things ($170,000 each) after they left the Bush Administration. [Citation]

So of course, it's been a year and no action at all. This petition is asking the administration to force TSA to comply.

Here's the deal, this petition thing needs 25,000 signatures to get in front of Obama. By tomorrow. It's getting pretty close, but please consider signing this to push it over the edge. Yes, you have to confirm an email address, but I've never gotten any spam from them.

If you weren't begging by starting the headline with "TFer's friend's petition" maybe I'd consider it. WTF does it matter if you're a TFer or not? GFY.

/you also used "here's the deal" twice//here's the deal- you're a twat

Another Pretentious Nickname:China White Tea: qorkfiend: All of you: the point of the petition isn't the scanners or their effectiveness. The point of the petition is to get the TSA to comply with a federal court order. I imagine most of us would be on board with government agencies complying with court orders.

A few things.

1. There is already a standing court order for the TSA to respond to the (initial) petition by Aug. 30th. If that doesn't get the job done, it's doubtful that 25K signatures on a new petition is going to change that.2. The We The People petitions really only compel them to respond - not to actually comply. "No" is a response, and is basically what was given the last time a WH petition was directed at the TSA.

I signed it, of course, because I loathe the TSA, but it's little more than a gesture at this point.

So there's a set date for response, it hasn't been reached yet, and people are all up in arms? Sheesh. This petition is truly pointless.

I mean, they'll probably miss the deadline, but why submit a petition before it's even been reached?

Another Pretentious Nickname:JK47: Another Pretentious Nickname: Also, leaning on a little bit of credibility as a cancer survivor, take your cancer alarmism about these things and shove it directly up your ass. It's not credible and it's not proportional. If you want to ban scanners for cancer risk you'd have to ban air travel entirely. Not to mention cell phones, WiFi, and probably chocolate cake.

Father died of cancer, both grandfathers died of cancer, my sister (at 22) had cancer. I prefer to avoid X-Ray machines operated by inexperienced, under-paid, and under-qualified personnel who may or may not have properly calibrated it that morning and have, in the last decade, developed a "stellar" reputation for maintaining and operating complicated pieces of equipment. What's more, since it's government operated, in the event they do fark up I have almost no recourse to redress my injury.

In any event, to match your tone, shut the fark up you ignorant prick.

It's amazing that your grandfathers died of cancer... how could that have happened before these devices were in use? My grandmother died of cancer and never even flew on a plane! She should have been immortal!

I'm sick of people trying to use bullshiat cancer scare tactics as a trump card against anything ever being done. You are all Jenny McCarthy to me.

ElusiveWookiee: Another Pretentious Nickname: If you want to ban scanners for cancer risk you'd have to ban air travel entirely. Not to mention cell phones, WiFi, and probably chocolate cake.

You mean non-ionizing radiation like that produced by millimeter wave technology? Or ionizing radiation like that you're already exposed to, in quantities far exceeding the backscatter scanning, during even the shortest flights?

Besides, you always have the pat down option. So if you can't do math or science and are freaked out about radiation, just do the pat-down. Why make everyone else wait? Just go be slow over in the paranoid line.

Again the petition is asking the TSA to follow the law. How you or anyone else feels about the machines is irrelevant.

I would think that a government agency thumbing their nose at a federal court order should be disturbing enough. However, given this particular agency is in that "law enforcement" domain of government makes this even more disturbing.

akula:Is there some reason the President needs a petition to have him do this?

Methinks some folks don't understand what "chief executive" means... he can make the TSA do this review at ANY time. If he hasn't yet, it's because he has chosen not to. I really doubt the President is unaware that people are generally unhappy about the TSA's activities, he just doesn't consider that unhappiness significant enough to impose change upon the agency.

A petition won't change that.

Considering how many jackasses think this is a GOOD thing here in this thread? Considering the rich and powerful can already ignore the TSA rules because they're special?

TheBigJerk:akula: Is there some reason the President needs a petition to have him do this?

Methinks some folks don't understand what "chief executive" means... he can make the TSA do this review at ANY time. If he hasn't yet, it's because he has chosen not to. I really doubt the President is unaware that people are generally unhappy about the TSA's activities, he just doesn't consider that unhappiness significant enough to impose change upon the agency.

A petition won't change that.

Considering how many jackasses think this is a GOOD thing here in this thread? Considering the rich and powerful can already ignore the TSA rules because they're special?

I fail to see how class warfare fits into this debate.

I see nothing wrong with a petition askin the executive branch to enforce the law - something they are supposed to do.

That has nothing to do with rich or poor.

Now if your point was that rich people enjoy more freedoms and influence over government - gee - real suprise there. Since when in like, forever has that not been the case? And do you seriously believe that will ever change?

F*ck you, pay me. Nothin's free and I didn't make that rule, the bankers did.Sponsor me and I'll sign your stupid form that will be ignored by the president like the top 8 f*cking requests which garnered 1000x as many as 4600 at we the people dot whatever for reforming our asinine anti-minority-based drug laws.

/you still think the president has any control? lol let me laugh harder

urban.derelict:F*ck you, pay me. Nothin's free and I didn't make that rule, the bankers did.Sponsor me and I'll sign your stupid form that will be ignored by the president like the top 8 f*cking requests which garnered 1000x as many as 4600 at we the people dot whatever for reforming our asinine anti-minority-based drug laws.

/you still think the president has any control? lol let me laugh harder

And yet you think he somehow is personally responsible for unemployment, failing to close Gitmo, and get us out of Afghanistan instantaneously.

Is today an odd day or an even day? It's the ODD day's he is omnipotent, remember.

peterquince:Here's the deal. A federal court told the TSA (airport security) that they had to "promptly" review the use of the "rapiscan" bodyscans in airports. They use them on everyone going through O'Hare. Aside from the fact that the scanners cause cancer, and they probably violate the 4th amendment, AND they have cost us $2.4 billion, they have never even once uncovered a bomb. This is pure pork money.

Oh, and former Homeland Security officials have made a butt-load on the sale of these things ($170,000 each) after they left the Bush Administration. [Citation]

So of course, it's been a year and no action at all. This petition is asking the administration to force TSA to comply.

Here's the deal, this petition thing needs 25,000 signatures to get in front of Obama. By tomorrow. It's getting pretty close, but please consider signing this to push it over the edge. Yes, you have to confirm an email address, but I've never gotten any spam from them.

Don't waste your time. The government doesn't give a damn what the people think or want. Go ahead and sign the stupid position. Then, in November, you'll vote for the same people who came up with the policies that you protest against. Why? BECAUSE YOU'RE A RETARD!!!

Sure, you can say it won't help. You can use the same rationale to justify not voting in elections, either. But as with voting, this doesn't take much time, and I chose to believe that every little bit helps.

For those who are opposed to the petition for reasons other than laziness, why do you think the TSA doesn't need to obey court orders? Even if you defend all of the theatrics, time wasting, money wasting, theft and physical abuse the TSA has dumped upon us, why do you think they must be allowed to blatantly thumb their noses at the Federal Court of Appeals? The only thing that the court ordered the TSA to do was to take public comments over its controversial scope-and-grope program. Why is allowing us to comment on TSA proceedings so dangerous that the TSA should be allowed to break the law to prevent us from being heard?